The town of Barnstable is seeking to gather proposals to build 87 rental units on this site in Osterville but is meeting resistance from some residents who want to purchase the property for well development and water protection.
When the residents of Barnstable voted 18 years ago to purchase 107 acres in the town’s village of Osterville, some believed the land was being bought for conservation purposes.
That’s why they were surprised when a town plan surfaced about four years ago to develop housing, including some affordable units, on a portion of the site. Now, some Osterville residents are battling to keep part of the land from being developed, arguing that the property – which is surrounded by two ponds – needs to be preserved to protect sensitive habitats and valuable water sources.
One local Realtor and housing developer has launched a campaign of sorts to purchase roughly 35 acres of the land, which is known as the Darby property, for well development and wellhead protection. On May 19, voters will be asked in a ballot question whether they support the purchase of the land and the following day they will meet to decide whether to authorize the water commissioners of the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire and Water District, or COMM District, to take the land by eminent domain.
“The documents are there to suggest the area they’re proposing to develop is a sensitive area,” said James Crocker, owner of Wianno Realty in Osterville and a member of the Prudential – or finance – Committee of the COMM Fire District. Crocker was instrumental in initiating the proposal to take part of the town-owned Darby land.
But some housing supporters maintain that Crocker’s efforts have nothing to do with protecting water sources and everything to do with blocking affordable housing.
“This is really about stopping affordable housing,” said Town Manager John Klimm.
According to Klimm, there are no studies that identify the property as a potential well and the water district has never requested that the land be used as a well site.
“It’s not about water. It’s about affordable housing,” he said. “It’s the town’s position that a fire district cannot use eminent domain power if its goal is solely to stop an affordable housing project.”
The town voted to purchase the Darby land, located off Old Mill Road in Osterville, back in 1985, along with other pieces of property for open space. At the time, a developer wanted to build 203 single-family homes on the Darby site, which includes Joshua’s and Micah’s ponds. While the other pieces of land were purchased for conservation purposes, Klimm said that town records clearly show that the Darby land was purchased for general municipal uses – not for conservation.
After the town voted to purchase the property, some title issues arose and about 36 acres of the property were taken and designated as conservation land, with the remaining acreage still remaining for municipal use.
‘Several Options’
About four years ago, Barnstable officials started working on a plan to tackle the town’s affordable housing issues, with the goal of developing affordable units in all seven villages. The town’s housing officials tried to identify town-owned property that was suitable for affordable housing development.
That type of planning has been encouraged by affordable housing advocates and state officials who have heard from community leaders concerned about housing development proposed under the state’s so-called anti-snob zoning law, or Chapter 40B. Chapter 40B enables developers to go through a speedier permitting process in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing is considered affordable if 25 percent of the units developers are proposing to build are sold or rented at below-market rates.
Almost 5 percent of Barnstable’s housing stock is considered affordable. Ninety-seven percent of Barnstable’s affordable housing is concentrated in Hyannis. Osterville has three affordable housing units.
“One of the goals of our local comprehensive plan … was to distribute affordable housing throughout the town,” said Laura Shufelt, development coordinator for the Barnstable Housing Authority and the town’s Housing Committee chairman. “We were looking at the other villages to do their share.”
As part of a lengthy planning process to develop more affordable housing, community leaders identified part of the Darby property in Osterville as an appropriate site for affordable housing. Initially, the town wanted to build 185 units on the site. However, the town’s housing committee and community development department, with the help of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, did an environmental analysis and feasibility study of the site last year and determined that the property could accommodate about 140 units on a 25-acre development footprint.
After dozens of meetings and negotiations with the Osterville Village Association, the number was eventually reduced to 87 rental units – 30 of which would be restricted for elderly residents. The town wants more than 25 percent of the units to be set aside as “affordable,” said Klimm.
Barnstable’s Town Council assembled a team to put out a request for proposals from developers and builders who are interested in constructing housing on the site. But in the last six months, Crocker has attempted to halt the town’s efforts. He challenged the team that was organized to create the request for proposals and unsuccessfully attempted to organize a recall of a town councilor who also serves on the Water Commission and supports the housing proposal.
More recently, Crocker has spearheaded the effort to take part of the land, arguing that under state law, water authorities have the power to acquire town-owned land not held in conservation to protect, store, treat and purify water sources.
Crocker, who is the president-elect of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors, said there are too many unanswered questions to go forward with the town’s intention to develop 87 housing units on the site. Several public documents, including a local comprehensive plan, have cited the Darby land as an important piece of property that must be protected, according to Crocker.
In addition, Crocker questioned how the town can claim that the property is municipal land if they lease it to a private developer who will make a profit by building on the site.
In an effort to create more affordable housing so the community doesn’t have to deal with developers who propose Chapter 40B projects, Crocker believes that some of those issues are being overlooked.
“Which is our interest: the preservation of the ponds or the advancement of the Town Council’s initiative? There are several options for an outcome – I can’t even predict what the outcome will be but we have an obligation to our town, our constituents, to do what’s best,” he said.
Supporters, on the other hand, say they believe there has been enough discussion and planning to proceed. Shufelt said prior environmental studies have shown that housing development would not affect nearby wells. Shufelt said opponents have stated publicly that they want to stop affordable housing from being developed on the Darby property.
“It’s clearly an issue of preventing affordable housing,” she said.
Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.
